Tata Chemicals to create new brand for food portfolio

Company's existing portfolio of pulses and spices under i-Shakti label will be migrated into a new brand which will also house future launches in the food segment.Sagar Malviya | ET Bureau | October 06, 2015, 11:19 IST

Company's existing portfolio of pulses and spices under i-Shakti label will be migrated into a new brand which will also house future launches in the food segment.MUMBAI: Tata Chemicals, the maker of branded salt and pulses, will create a new umbrella brand for its foods portfolio as it looks to treble revenues to Rs 5,000 crore in 5 years by entering newer product categories. The company's existing portfolio of pulses and spices under i-Shakti label will be migrated into a new brand "Sampann" which will also house future launches in the staples and food segment.

"The Indian consumer believes that the best nourishment comes from a thali and we want to be part of the change by adopting more branded food.So, all products that are part of the thali are candidates and which of these will we enter is a matter of timing and phasing," said Richa Arora, chief operating officer of Consumer Products Business at Tata Chemicals.

With an experience of more than two decades, Arora has been with companies such as Britannia, Balsara and Draft FCB Ulka before joining Tata Chemicals a year ago.

The company will use its learning and distribution strength of its salt portfolio that accounts for nearly 80% of its consumer products division with nearly 69% share. As part of its 'Grow More Pulses' initiative with Rallis, the company engages with 1,50,000 farmers across four states for sourcing and will expand retail footprint to 2.5 million outlets from its current 1.43 million outlets. The food market in India is pegged at Rs 6 lakh crore, including rice, staples, flour, spice, pulses with many segments controlled by unbranded players including local kiranawallahs. However, Tata Chemicals wants to replicate its success of converting loose salt market 25 years ago into a category that is two-third branded now.

It won't be easy as unlike salt, many segments such as spices, additives and staples have strong regional preferences where local brands dominate. Within spices, there are many regional players. In pulses, the challenges are different. "There is also an element of retailer resistance because there is a certain remuneration they get from unbranded products. So, we are looking at each category, depending on market dynamics and our strength," said Arora.

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